Summer Screenshots: Hot Nights+Cold War

Historical Context for

Journey from the Fall

August 12, 2020 China’s influence Red River Delta Le Loi

Red River Delta Red River Delta ◦ Indochina ◦ Red River and Mekong deltas ◦ Life under French colonial rule

Mekong Delta ● Ho Chi Minh, “He Who Enlightens” ● Vietminh ● Hanoi Cold War Domino Theory Battle of Dien bien Phu Geneva Conference The Unwinnable War in Vietnam ● President John F. Kennedy ● President Lyndon B. Johnson ● Napalm ● Agent Orange ● Vietcong ● Tet Offensive America loses Vietnam & the Fallout Thuyền nhân Việt Nam ◦ President Richard M. Nixon

◦ Vietnamization ◦ Ho Chi Minh Trail ◦ Fall of Saigon ◦ Thuyền nhân Việt Nam ◦ Operation New Life The Aftermath in Vietnam About the director, Ham Tran

Profiled recently in the PBS series, “Asian Americans,” part 4 “Generation Rising.” Tran cast non-actors from the Vietnamese community in supporting roles in Journey from the Fall. Tran and his team interviewed about 400 people to tell their story of Vietnam and their lives after the war. 1. Vietnamese Communist Re-education Camps (grades 9-12) 2. The “Fall” in Journey from the Curriculum Ideas:: Fall (grades 7-12)

3. The Legend of Le Loi and kite-flying as representations of Vietnamese history and culture (grades K-5) Historical Timeline of Vietnam

15th c. CE 1955 1975-1993 2nd c. BCE Expansionist After defeating 1975 More than 1 Invasion of Red Ming dynasty France in Indochina Saigon falls to million River delta by defeated by War, Vietnam Vietminh & Vietnamese China’s Han Le Loi; Le divided at the 17th Vietcong. US are sent to dynasty dynasty parallel at Geneva troops leave re-education ushered in. Convention Vietnam. camps.

th 1975-1995, 10 c. CE Late 19th c. 1950s-60s Vietnamese Vietnamese French colonize US Cold War refugees flee rebel against Vietnam, Laos, foreign policy Vietnam, with waning T’ang Cambodia, sends US troops to nearly 1 million dynasty; win naming it Vietnam; shooting ultimately independence Indochina war begins. arriving in U.S. Inside the Da Ban re-education camp, Journey from the Fall

(6:53)“We know you were a high-ranking officer. You don’t have to write anymore self evaluations. We already know about all your Da Ban Camp crimes. You sided with the American imperialists, waged war against the revolutionaries. You’re a traitor to your country, to your own people.”--Communist officer at Da Ban re-education camp “Death is nothing. The day Saigon fell is my memorial.”--Long, during interrogation.

Map Source: “The Bamboo Gulag,” by Nghia M. Vo. Classroom Activity for Re-Education Camps

◦ Consider assigning your class in groups or individually to read each of the following sub-sections, “Registration and Arrest,” “Camp Conditions,” “Camp Routine,” “Labor is Glory,” “Rules and Punishment,” “The Prisoners and their Families,” and “Release Policy,” on the website: https://indomemoires.hypotheses.org/2388

◦ Ask students to present or write a summary of their assigned reading in a paragraph, and then have them do research about other human detainment camps throughout history, from the concentration camps of the Holocaust to the Japanese internment camps in the United States, to the detention of the Uyghurs in China today. Have students compare and contrast the conditions in Vietnam’s re-education camps with these camps in an essay or class discussion. Vietnamese Communist Re-education Camps The Choices Program, Brown University

“After the Fall of Saigon on April 30th, 1975, every South Vietnamese man, from former officers in the armed forces, to religious leaders, to employees of the Americans or the old government, were told to report to a re-education camp to “learn about the ways of the new government.” Many South Vietnamese men chose to flee on boats, but others had established lives and loved ones in Vietnam, so they willingly entered these camps in hopes of quickly reconciling with the new government and continuing their lives peacefully. According to my father, the government said re-education would only last for ten days, and at most two weeks. However, once there, the men were detained for many years in grueling labor camps.” --Quyen Truong https://www.choices.edu/curriculum-catalog/vietnamese-re-education-camps-brief-history/ (Consider using The Choices Program as a resource for your class instruction, as well.) The “Fall in Journey from the Fall

Consider the varied possible meanings of “the Fall.” ● The actual waterfall that Long and his comrade tried to reach to demarcate their freedom. ● The fall of Vietnam, and the journey taken by Long’s family beyond that harrowing moment. ● The emotional and physical toll taken on Long and his family. Long endures torture and ultimately death at the hands of his “re-educators” in the labor camps of Vietnam. After a harrowing escape by sea, Mai, her mother-in-law, Ba Noi, and son, Lai, attempt to begin life anew in southern California without Long, and are left to mourn their separation from him. The “Fall” in Journey from the Fall

Go over the following three slides (starting after this slide) with quotes from each of the movie scenes below and then answer the questions in a class discussion or writing assignment.

Scene Long at waterfall Boat Scene Orange County, CA

Questions How has Long arrived at this What challenges has What challenges have moment? Reading the Mai and her family Mai, her son, Lai, and accompanying quotes, how has faced to come to this mother-in-law faced in Long set himself apart from his point in the boat? their new lives in captors? Why do you think the What is meant by Mai’s America? What director chose to show a conversation about the successes have they kite-flying scene and Long’s son, Moon Festival? Discuss achieved? Discuss the Lai’s, drawings floating away at the pirate attack principal’s quote? Do the moment Long dies? scene--what would you you think he truly do? understands? Why or why not? Long’s attempted escape from the re-education camp (1:05)“If you had killed her, you would be just like them.”--Long to his comrade during their escape from the camps after they make contact with a village woman by accident. “No matter what happens, I have to get this book back to my son.”--Long speaking of his son, Lai’s, book of drawings. When Long dies at the waterfall (1:13), the film cuts to scenes of kite-flying and then scenes of Lai’s drawings floating away. Those Who Left: Escape by boat

It is estimated that up to 1.5 million refugees (1:07)“Today is the Moon Festival. I escaped Vietnam, but that about 10 percent died wonder if the young ones will miss from drowning, piracy, dehydration, or Vietnam the way we do.” --Mai, on otherwise never made landfall. boat. By 1979, over 350,000 boat people sought refuge throughout Southeast Asia, with another 200,000 receiving permanent residency in other (1:10) No! I beg of you! Oh God, no! countries. The United States accepted roughly 1 Please, God! Don’t let them take my million Vietnamese refugees overall from daughter! Don’t take her away! My 1975-2000. baby! Take me, not her.”--Phuong’s Source: United Nations Human Rights Commission mother, as pirates attack boat. Those Who Left: Orange County,

California, 1981 In the aftermath of the war, Vietnamese refugees arrived to the United States in three distinct waves: (1:16:45) “We feel your grandson has an ● The first wave was comprised of military and government emotional problem. He hasn’t made any effort employees who were middle class, urban residents of to make friends and he doesn’t take his classes Vietnam, and were more educated and seriously. Today he drew this as his Father’s Day proficient in English than those who left Vietnam later. present. And after school he was caught fighting ● The second wave of Vietnamese refugees came from rural with three Mexican boys. You know, Mrs. areas, were comparably less educated, did not speak Nguyen, I know what you must have gone English or were less proficient in through to come to this country. My own English than the first wave. This is the group that mostly grandparents were Irish immigrants.” settled in California. ● The third wave was comprised of political prisoners, ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese, and others. Source: https://www.labor.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/NAILFILES_FINAL.pdf Extended meaning questions

1. What is the meaning of “Fall” in each particular scene? 2. How has your study of the Vietnam War impacted your understanding of each scene? (assuming you are studying the Vietnam War) The Legend of Le Loi

◦ Le Loi was a real king and revolutionary, whose 15th century reign in Annam (later Vietnam) began a 360 year long dynasty. ◦ Le Loi was 20 years old when the Chinese Ming dynasty invaded Annam in 1406. He began a 10 year campaign to defeat a much larger and better equipped Chinese army. ◦ Le Loi’s comrade, Le Lai, sacrificed his life to the Chinese forces so that Le Loi could escape. Le Loi ordered that Le Lai be memorialized for his loyalty and friendship. ◦ Eventually, Le Loi’s revolt was successful, and the Chinese were vanquished from Amman, gaining Vietnam its independence until French rule in the 19th century. The Legend of the Golden Turtle God

◦ “The legend has many versions. According to one, a fisherman caught a sword blade and sold it to Le Loi. The sword was inscribed with the words "Thuan Thien," meaning "according to heaven's will." Le Loi later found a handle that fit the blade perfectly. The discovery inspired Le Loi to gather up men to fight the Chinese. When the country was liberated, Le Loi crowned himself king and settled in what is now the capitol of Vietnam, Ha Noi. ◦ One day, as King Le Loi was taking a leisure boat trip on a lake in the capital, the Golden Turtle God appeared from the lake. Le Loi drew his sword, but it magically slipped out of his grip, flew to the Golden Turtle God who caught it, nodded to the king, and dove away. ◦ After that, King Le Loi ordered the lake renamed Hoan Kiem, or "Returned Sword." The lake is still in the center of Ha Noi, and ancient turtles estimated to be hundreds of years old still live in it.”

Source: http://www.journeyfromthefall.com/Legend.aspx#:~:text=Le%20Loi%20is%20a%20real,rule%20over%20the%20Annamese%20peo ple. Classroom Applications for the Legend of Le Loi

Discuss with students the topic of legends. Why are they written? What purpose do they serve? Have students talk about other legends they know about and what meaning or purpose they serve. Read some versions of the legend of Le Loi (see two below) and discuss its meaning and purpose, especially as it relates to the film, Journey from the Fall. https://www.vietvisiontravel.com/post/the-lake-of-the-restored-sword/ http://www.travelingthruhistory.com/turtle-tower/ Compare and contrast it with other legends, such as King Arthur and excalibur. https://www.storiestogrowby.org/story/king-arthur-and-the-legend-of-the-sword-in-the-stone-st ories-for-kids/ Ask students to share their comparisons and contrasts and discuss as a class. The Vietnamese tradition of kite-flying

Kite-flying is a Vietnamese tradition that dates back to the 10th century. According to the Voice of Vietnam (https://vovworld.vn/en-US/sunday-show/vietnams-thousandyearold-kitemaking-village-366485.vov), “The elderly say once upon a time when heaven and earth were close, heaven’s fairies often came down to attend earth’s festivals. But one day, the heaven rose higher and higher. The fairies couldn’t come down. People on earth made kites as a way to restore contact with the heaven. People attached bamboo flutes to the kites to call the fairies to the earth’s festivals.” Kites are said to be a symbol of yin-yang, connecting heaven and earth. Yin-yang represents the ancient Chinese belief in dualism or the harmony that opposing forces can create when combined together. Kite-flying has also traditionally been a way for the Vietnamese to send their prayers for good weather and abundant crops to the sky. Classroom Applications for Kite-flying

1.) Watch the very beginning and very end of Journey from the Fall, which both show kite-flying. Discuss as a class who is flying the kites in the beginning of the film and who is flying them at the end. What does flying the kites symbolize? What message might the director be conveying through the use of kite-flying in these opening and closing scenes of the film.

2.) When Long dies, the scene switches to kites flying in the sky (1:13). Discuss with students why those images are included in the scene. What do the kites represent?

3.) Have students make their own kites and write messages (wishes, hopes) to attach on to them. Fly the kites and share pictures and stories of the experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0FeNdB2GDY Sources https://amcmuseum.org/history/operation-babylift-and-new-life/ https://www.choices.edu/curriculum-catalog/vietnamese-re-education-camps-brief-history/ https://indomemoires.hypotheses.org/2388 http://www.journeyfromthefall.com/Legend.aspx#:~:text=Le%20Loi%20is%20a%20real,rule%20over%20the%20Annam ese%20people. https://www.storiestogrowby.org/story/king-arthur-and-the-legend-of-the-sword-in-the-stone-stories-for-kids/ https://www.vietvisiontravel.com/post/the-lake-of-the-restored-sword/ http://www.travelingthruhistory.com/turtle-tower/ https://www.unhcr.org/3ebf9bad0.pdf https://vovworld.vn/en-US/sunday-show/vietnams-thousandyearold-kitemaking-village-366485.vov https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0FeNdB2GDY https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/05/15/surviving-communist-reeducation-camp/5f6164e7-6370-4d 19-95e3-5f10bc66fab0/